


The Stolen Song

by mummapaintstheblues



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Circus setting, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Romance, Slow Burn, mermaid, story telling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-13 18:05:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17492675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mummapaintstheblues/pseuds/mummapaintstheblues
Summary: Have you heard the mermaid sing?She lives in the bay. Legend says that she used to sing to anyone who would listen. But no longer.A young boy, Kakashi Hatake, in his grief stumbles across the mermaid. And thus begins a friendship and the telling of a tale as to why the mermaid sings no more.





	1. A Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate Universe all the way.

"Have you been to Silversands Bay yet?"

The question was asked of him too eagerly, as if it were something to immediately get excited about even if Kakashi had never seen the place. He sighed before answering.

"No, not yet Father..."

Though he had only just turned seven, Kakashi was fairly certain that this whole trip had been his father's last ditch effort at showing the world he was a capable parent. Giving his son all the summer fun and frivolity he could ever dream of. Except Kakashi wanted nothing of the sort.

Put him in a dark, cool room with a lamp and a good book. That was all he wanted. The sea and sunshine was for those kinds of people that made friends or had large families to enjoy it with. Kakashi had no one and nothing of the sort. Except his father, who was currently in the midst of one of his manic episodes . Jogging up and down on the spot before adjusting his new running shoes for the upteenth time, at least his father was getting out today. 

"Well, while I'm running you should go and see if for yourself son. If you're very lucky you might just see the mermaid." Sakumo said the last part with a chuckle and a wink. Knowing that his son would be rolling his eyes at the very notion.

Within moments Kakashi found himself alone, again. Ideally he would retreat indoors and read one of the three books he had been allowed to take with him on this trip, but he'd been through them twice already. So with a sigh Kakashi shut and locked the door to the one bedroom shack his father had insisted on renting for the summer. It wasn't necessary to lock it, no one was around for miles, but old habits died hard.

It would take five minutes to get to Silversands if he cut across the paddock and over the hill. The sun boring down on him harshly. What he wouldn't give to be back in the dusty library next to their apartment in the city. The familiar pages and tomes were reliable and easy company, books never needed to be spoken to after all.

Jumping the fence, Kakashi could smell the hot air, the earth, the cow dung. It was an assault on his sensitive nose before he finally caught whiff of the ocean and salt air.

Kakashi often considered that being a silent reader allowed him special skills that other boys his age lacked. Because he wasn't loud or boisterous, keeping to himself and his books, his sense of smell was ten times better than anyone else's, not cluttered by too many people. It was the same for his hearing, He could tell before he saw it, exactly where the tide would be on the shore by how loud the lapping noise of the waves was. Even though he'd never been to this particular bay, his father's continued insistence on it was bothersome, so he'd better at least check it out and have something to offer him later. It might do to calm the downswing of his manic moods.... Mother would have been able to calm him instantly... Kakashi bitterly thought.

Kicking at the stones on the shore, he watched the crabs scuttle away from him. Fleeing from the possibility of being too close to him, just like everyone else did. Not that he cared really. It was as if nature itself knew that he wasn't worth spending any time on…

He threw a stone into the pristine water, skipping it, thinking of the last time he'd done this with his mother. Missing her more and more with each skip of the flat rock. Before he knew it tears began to drop but he refused to pay them any attention. so they dropped onto his skin and morphed into a momentary blinding rage, flowing to the tips of his fingers, he threw the next stone with more force than necessary...

"Ouch..."

The word made him pause and look around.

There was no one. And it certainly hadn't come from his own lips, he rarely spoke and when he did it was, only to Father when asked a direct question. Kakashi shook his head. Maybe he was just losing himself just like his father was.

He shook his head before rolling his shoulder and throwing the next pebble.

"Ow...Hey! Would you cut that out, it hurts y'know!"

Kakashi dropped the small stockpile of rocks in his hand, his jaw also fell at the sight of something that _shouldn't exist._

Rubbing her head, a woman was rising out of the water, or at least her top half was. Long wet, pink hair stuck to her shimmering skin. The woman didn't look real, it was what Kakashi imagined a jewel would look like if it took human form.

"Here I am, lying here, minding my own business, enjoying a nap. And suddenly these pebbles land on my head... Well I'm awake now." She sighed.

Kakashi was still gobsmacked, and maybe it was the shock that forced the stuttering sentence from his lips.

"Y-you, were sleeping...u-under the water?"

"Hmm?" She seemed to only just notice him, brushing her hair from her face with her fingers. A kind of golden glittering seaweed the only thing wrapped around the upper half of her body that he could see. But her smile, her smile was the most bewitching thing. And this was the first time he'd seen anything quite so remarkable. "Of course, where else would I sleep?"

The woman lifted her lower half up onto a stray rock and out of the shallow water for him to see. The brilliant blue of a long finned tail rising, shining in the sunlight, before splashing back down into the water. So clear and pristine it was, that the tail itself seemed to camouflage into the water.

"You-you're a mermaid?" He could scarcely believe the words that he uttered. Such a thing as this was meant to only exist in fairy tales and stories, not real life. It shook the very fabric of his world, every book he'd ever read flashing before his eyes in an instant. Maybe they were all true.... What a wonderful and perplexing discovery that was.

She seemed not to notice the quiet words he'd said. Her voice reaching his ears again.

"I suppose you want to hear my song, is that it? Well sorry to disappoint, but not only do I not sing anymore, that counts especially for boys who throw stones at mermaids just trying to nap with the flounder..."

"I'm sorry." Kakashi found his voice suddenly, and he wasn't sure where it came from exactly;out of desire for knowledge or confusion, take your pick. "I really didn't see you there. I was just..."

"You've been crying..." She sounded concerned as she interrupted, her eyes like green swirling pools boring into his very soul for a moment. Kakashi quickly wiped at the tears with the back of his hand. "Are you alright young one?"

"I'm fine..." They were the only words he could form at the moment, the only ones he felt he could trust, he couldn't bring himself to look directly in her eyes again. They were hypnotic and he didn't want to let the rest of this thoughts out presently, it was spellbinding to look into them.

The mermaid sighed, continuing to watch him closely with an expression of caring and concern.

"Well, obviously you’re not fine. The water in your eyes doesn't lie sweetheart. But I'll accept your apology. What is your name?"

Suddenly remembering his manners, he stood upright and scrambled to find the right words. Speaking so quickly it was a wonder she understood any of it.

"Kakashi ma'am. Kakashi Hatake, pleased to meet you." He bowed ever so slightly.

"Kakashi, what a sweet name for a sweet child."

A smile cracked on his lips, it felt strange, he couldn't remember the last time it had happened naturally. There was hardly reason to smile after his mother's passing. Things were so dull without her

"What may I call you, Miss?"

"Hmm..." the mermaid paused carefully. "If you promise to let those tears out more often, instead of keeping them in so long they burst out, I'll tell you. Promise?"

Kakashi nodded, but she stayed silent. He knew words would be necessary.

"Yes, I promise."

"Good." She smiled wider and it was as if the world had stopped turning. "My name is Sakura, the mermaid of Silversands Bay. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Kakashi Hatake."

Beguiled by the way she spoke, and the way she smiled, he couldn't help but feel it spread to his own face. Her voice, to his sensitive hearing was ethereal, like it was reaching into his very soul and pulling the words out in the right order.

"Now tell me Kakashi, why are you crying on such a beautiful day?"

"My mother.... she died. And my father isn't taking it so well..."

"Oh, you poor dear. So young too..." Sakura put a hand to her mouth, her own tears making her eyes seem even more unreal and hypnotic.

Kakashi paused for thought. Wondering if he was dreaming, if he had been pulled into one of the novels he'd fallen asleep on so many times. There was just no logical explanation for his mind other than, she was indeed real. It opened up an entire realm of possibilities for Kakashi all at once. A world of wonder that he thought had been dulled for him forever by the death of his mother...

"Sakura, you asked if I wanted to hear you sing, why don’t you anymore? I’m sure your voice is even lovelier in song…”

There was a sadness in her eyes, the kind of sadness one sees in the eyes of an animal. Not because it's hurt or suffering from anything in particular. But a kind of elemental sorrow for the nature of things.

"That, is a long story my dear. If I tell it to you, will you promise not to throw anymore stones?"

It was an odd request, but adults and even adult mermaids it seemed, were always odd and backward when they wanted something.

"I will, I promise."

Her smile returned, though not as bright as the first time.

"Good, come back and see me tomorrow and I will begin to tell it. But it is a long _long_ story, and not without its fair share of...well, it's not a happy tale."

"I like long stories. I read them all the time. The longer the better..." Kakashi almost shouted excitedly. Sakura chuckled.

"Very well. Let me get back to my beauty sleep, and I shall see you tomorrow. Kakashi Hatake."

He smiled, wide and genuine, it was like a breath of fresh air after drowning. His eyes only closed for that one moment, when he opened them she was gone, only a ripple of the water alluding to her presence. Kakashi ran back to the shack at full speed. Intent on writing every word of the encounter down while it was still fresh in his head, in case he really did wake up and discover it was just a dream.

It had to be real, it just had to be. And that meant that the wondrous worlds he fell into with each novel could also be real too. It was the first time since his mother died that excitement held his heart captive. And he wanted to chase that feeling for as long as possible.


	2. Chapter Two: Tales of the Tail

CHAPTER TWO: TALES OF THE TAIL

Kakashi’s overflowing excitement had been shattered the moment his father had arrived at the shack after his run. It only took one look at Sakumo’s face for Kakashi to know that he was no longer in the upbeat mood of this morning, he was a different man now. His running shoes had been white and pristine when he’d left, now they were covered in grass stains and dirt. 

That was the problem with Sakumo these days, he would be in an over-the-top enthusiastic mood one moment, and begin on some ridiculous endeavour, an adventure he would call it. Then sometime only hours later, it was like a switch had been flicked inside of the man, and all that energy was turned into utter despair. In this state it was difficult to get him to eat, bathe, or even talk. So Kakashi knew on sight, that there would be no talking to his father this evening, despite the excitement he was feeling. It would be pointless talking to this shell of a being that used to be his father. Sakumo had retired to his bed almost as soon as he walked in the door, without so much as a hello or removing his clothes or shoes.

Sleep eluded Kakashi for hours, his mind conjuring up images from every book he’d ever read about mermaids or sailors’ stories. The wondrous notion that they were all true stood out now more than ever. When he did succumb to sleep, it was with dreams of grand old ships and sirens calls. The voice of Sakura the mermaid called through to him even in his slumber and it was hauntingly beautiful, even if she wasn’t singing.

Morning came with birdsong and brilliant sunshine. Kakashi woke with gusto and purpose, tending to his father, feeding him before having a bite to eat himself. Sakumo promptly returned to his bed and was not likely to move for the day. Except this time, instead of heart aching sorrow at the sight of his father’s diminished capacity, Kakashi had somewhere else to be. Someone else he desperately wanted to talk to, who would actually talk back, and tell him stories. Shoving a few items into his satchel for later, food, drink, a book (just in case), Kakashi was out the door and running across the paddock at full tilt. 

The mid morning sun wasn’t nearly as harsh as yesterday afternoon, and the smells assaulting his nostrils were also not as terrible as the day before. Salt, hot sand and the long grass he was wading through. His heart beat loudly in time with the sounds of the lapping shore. When the bay was within sight, he looked down upon it, scanning the water for any sign of pink. By the time he’d reached the sands of the shore he was rapidly fighting down the feeling of his hopes being dashed.

_She’d said she would meet him. She wouldn’t break her promise, right?_

Kakashi trudged down to the water’s edge, picking up a few flat pebbles on his way, turning them over in his hand a few times.

“Good morning, Kakashi.”

He startled and dropped the stones to the water with an audible ‘plonk’, whipping around to catch an eyeful of glittering gold and pink sitting and leaning against the big rock. She was only a little ways up the shore, but she would have been obscured from his view of the bay. 

“Good… good morning, Sakura.”

He had to wonder just how she made it up the shore, though it was only a couple meters from the water, he assumed moving with that tail of hers on land was impossible. He’d been wrong obviously, but he’d also never thought that mermaids existed before now too, so he shrugged it off as a simple knowledge gap. 

“You weren’t about to throw those stones were you? You made me a promise young man…”

“I swear! I wasn’t! It’s just… a habit… finding the right ones.” Kakashi swallowed the rest of his words thickly, that it had been something his mother had often done on their walks together, and the habit was hard to break.

“Well, that’s good then. I’m so happy to see you, Kakashi! I don’t get many visitors. Why don’t you come sit with me? I promised to tell you a story after all…”

Blinking back a couple stray tears at the sudden and unexpected thoughts of his mother, Kakashi attempted a smile before nodding in eagerness. Climbing over the rocks, he took a few large steps before reaching the rock where she was sitting, her long and shimmering tail reflecting the sun in a million different directions. It would have been blinding, except it only seemed to make her entire body glow, and the longer he stood close to her the better his eyes adjusted. It was like seeing the whole world with the same shining aura, being so near her. The colors were brighter, the ocean, the sky and sand. The green of the rolling hills around him, the pink of Sakura’s hair and tail. 

His eyes followed the length of her tail, her back leaning against the rock, her tail lying to one side and glistening. Kakashi paused a moment before tentatively removing his satchel and taking a position directly next to her. He made himself as comfortable as possible on the rocks, all the while her green eyes watching him. Though not with the same curiosity as he had been eyeing her. This was something he recognized in many adults who knew his situation… it was pity. Or at least, Kakashi had thought it was pity. The idea that others could be genuinely concerned for him hadn’t yet crossed his mind.

“Before you tell me the story…. Do you mind... if I ask you a couple of questions?”

Sakura smiled and in that moment she seemed almost too bright to behold with the naked eye.

"Of course sweetheart, ask away."

"For starters... How did you get up on the shore like this?"

When she giggled Kakashi thought he felt a ripple in the air around him, and despite the turbulent thoughts flitting around his mind, he felt an overwhelming urge to smile back. It was infectious, her laugh and smile, and he could tell that from only one sighting.

"It's not easy for most of my kind, crawling up onto the land like this. But for me it's fine. I'm used to it."

"There's more mermaids?" Kakashi couldn't help if some of the excitement he was feeling came through in his tone. He wouldn't have been able to hide it right now even if he'd wanted to.

"Yes, there's more of us. There is supposed to be a mermaid for each and every bay and ocean in the world..." Sakura had a sadness in her eyes, the glow around her seemed to fade with it.

"Supposed to be?"

"Yes..." Sakura seemed to shake her head as if to physically shake the sadness, scooching closer to Kakashi as she spoke, the closeness didn't even bother him like it usually would. "You see, mermaids like me, have a special kind of job."

"Job?"

"Yes, a job. Through our powers we are assigned a bay, or ocean, to protect. Some mermaids are able to use their special gifts to protect a certain kind of animals, like the seals you see shored at Urqheart's bay, this is their home. And the mermaid assigned to that bay is able to keep the balance just right."

"Balance?"

Sakura nodded.

"For example..." Sakura giggled and the light appeared brightly around her again. Kakashi watched transfixed as one by one, crabs big and small dug up through the sand and crawled over to them. Gulls and birds dropped from the sky to sit on the rocks in front of them, the calm waters began to swish and glimmer as if a thousand fish were suddenly only an inch beneath the surface, dancing an inch below the water. "Here at Silversands, there is a perfect balance between all creatures, big and small. I make sure the larger shells are available to the larger crabs, that there's plenty of food to share around. The water is clean and cool for the many animals who live in it. And I'm able to this all by the power of my voice and song."

"Like magic then?"

"I guess you could say it's like magic, yes." Sakura giggled again and all the crabs, fish and birds around them seemed to join in with her in their own way.

"When you say... supposed to be..." Kakashi couldn't help but wonder curiously at her earlier sadness, he wished he could just let it be, but he wasn't sure when he would get another chance to converse with a mermaid. The creatures around them dispersed back to their respective homes.

"A lot of us have had to go into hiding... for various reasons. Some of us have even been taken from our homes."

"Oh, that sounds awful... What happens to the balance of a place if the mermaid isn't there?"

Kakashi almost startled when Sakura's hand came up to play with the short tufts of white hair that stuck out in all directions. He'd long given up trying to tame it, though she seemed to be interested in it as she spoke.

"Terrible things... Pollution, angry waters without the powers to calm them, animals unable to find food or refuge..." Her voice petered out though she continued to fuss with his hair, Kakashi didn't have the heart to shoo her away. "But all the best places, still have their mermaid, still have their magic. And that is a wonderful thing." She smiled and tenderly brushed his cheek before dropping her hand to her side.

Kakashi wasn't so sure what it was about Sakura, she was just easier to talk to than most people. Maybe it was because she wasn't people at all. Something in her words touched a chord inside of him, and he was unable to keep himself silent.

"This...might sound silly, but I know how you feel. After Mother died... Well I guess our family just lost its balance, lost the person that was keeping everything and everyone together..." His voice ran out before he could say another word. It felt as if something was clawing its way up from his heart and gripping him by the throat, stopping any more words from coming out, stopping him from sharing how he felt with others.He had already shared more with her than most human people, there was just _something_ about her, something that made him want to share.

"That doesn't sound silly at all, not one bit." Her voice soothed, Kakashi met her tender eye with a smile. "Thank you for sharing that with me, Kakashi."

"Well, you just looked sad, and I figured... if you're going to be sad, we may as well be sad together."

"That's very wise. You're a bit of a clever clogs for your age, aren't you?"

Kakashi couldn't help but smirk at the comment. It was the same kind of nonsensical assumption a lot of people made about him.

"I don't know about that, I've just read a lot of books."

"You like reading?" Sakura asked, he nodded. "What kind of books do you like to read?"

"Everything..." Kakashi answered without hesitation. "I like reading everything, fiction and nonfiction, I like reading all things."

"You like stories then?"

"Yes, very much."

"You had that look about you when I first saw you. Good, because I promised to tell a story, and it's a long one."

"That's okay, I have the time..."

"I'll warn you though, before I start, though I'm sure you already know... Not all stories are happy ones. And not all fairy tales end the way you want them to."

Kakashi met her eye, those deep pools of green and the sorrow that they held. But he was still sure that he wanted to know, he wanted to hear her story more than anything else in the world, because he wasn't so sure when he would get another chance to hear it.

"I know." He said softly. "I would still love to hear your story, Sakura..."

"Well, alright then. I did make a promise and a mermaid always keeps her promises. That is probably the best place to start this story. Are you ready?"

Kakashi nodded, his features morphing to awe and amazement as Sakura rubbed her hands together. Glittering sparks seemed to come from her fingers, which she then raked through her hair, the golden sparks rippling down the long locks of pink. Suddenly that hair was hypnotizing and holding him captive, calm washing over him completely as those pinpricks of light seemed to morph the world around them. It felt like he could _see_ what she was speaking about.

"Then let me begin. This tale starts some years ago, on this very beach..."


End file.
